Objectives: Steroids have had the main role in renal transplant for more than 4 decades. However, chronic use of steroids is associated with many comorbidities, owing to a lack of assessing cost-benefit of steroid avoidance in live-donor renal allotransplants. In this prospective, randomized, controlled study, we aimed to assess the cost-benefit of a steroid-free immunosuppression regimen among Egyptian live-donor renal transplants.
Materials and methods: One hundred patients were randomly allocated to receive tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and steroids for only 3 days (n=50 patients; study group) or tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and steroids on a maintenance basis (n=50 patients; control group). All patients received basiliximab (Simulect) induction, with median follow-up of 12 months.
Results: Both groups showed comparable graft and patient survivals, rejection episodes, and graft functioning. Posttransplant comorbidities were significantly more prevalent in the steroid-maintenance group. Hypertension was detected in 4% of steroid-free group versus 24% in the steroid-maintenance group (P = .0009). Posttransplant diabetes mellitus, serious infections, and hyperlipidemia were significantly more prevalent in the steroid-maintenance group (P < .05). Associated hospitalization costs were 2.2-fold higher in the steroid-maintenance group than they were in the steroid-free group. One year after transplant, the cost of managing posttransplant comorbidities was significantly higher in steroid-maintenance group, despite comparable costs of immunosuppression.
Conclusions: In low, immunologic risk recipients of live-donor renal transplants, using basiliximab induction and maintenance with tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, steroid avoidance was associated with lower first annual total costs despite comparable immunosuppression costs, which was attributed to lower costs of associated morbidities.